Gerakan has urged all qualified and talented Malaysians to join the civil service to make it at par with the private sector, in terms of efficiency and competency.

Gerakan vice-president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said a “colour blind” civil service would also instil greater public confidence, besides enhancing productivity. Mah said the people must feel that they are getting value for their taxed money as RM41 billion as emoluments were spent on the public sector in 2008, and RM32billion in 2007.

He said the civil service must be opened to all qualified and talented Malaysians. “It must be corruption-free, people-friendly, be efficient, result-oriented to be bench-marked with international best practices, and transparent.” The recruitment, Mah said, must be based on meritocracy, reflecting the Malaysian multi-racial and religious context.

Mah said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak ought to be supported in his effort to modernise and reform the civil service in the interests of all Malaysians and to ensure the competitiveness and survival of Malaysia in today’s globalization era.

When announcing proposals to revamp the civil service yesterday, Najib said the time had come for the public service to be opened up to talents in the private sector.

“We do not need mere seat warmers, we need actual doers,” Najib told a gathering of civil servants at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre yesterday.